Chapter 2 - The Boy Hidden From Him
Sebastian Cole stared at the photograph until the image became impossible to ignore.
A little boy.
Five years old.
Brown hair.
His eyes.
For the first time in years, Sebastian felt something stronger than grief.
Hope.
And that terrified him more than anything.
Because hope meant there was something left to lose.
Vincent stood across the desk, still holding the photograph in his hand.
Neither man spoke.
They had faced armed men together.
They had survived betrayals, wars, and enemies who believed they could bring down the Cole organization.
But this was different.
This was not a threat coming from outside.
This was a piece of Sebastian’s own life that had been stolen before he even knew it existed.
"His name?"
Vincent looked up.
"What?"
Sebastian pointed toward the photograph.
"My son."
His voice was low.
"What's his name?"
Vincent looked back at the letter.
"There should be more."
Sebastian turned the page.
The last words Madeline wrote were burned into his mind.
Find him.
Protect him.
Don't let them take him from you.
But there was no name.
No address.
No explanation.
Only a clue.
Sebastian grabbed the second envelope.
It was smaller.
Older.
The paper had been folded and unfolded many times.
Madeline had touched this.
She had prepared this.
For him.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Three words were written.
"Start with Emma."
Sebastian frowned.
"Who is Emma?"
Vincent stepped closer.
"I don't know."
Sebastian looked at the handwriting again.
Madeline had never written anything without a reason.
Every sentence she spoke had meaning.
Every choice she made had a purpose.
She had known she might never come back.
She had created a path for him.
A path to their son.
Sebastian picked up his phone.
"Find everything about Madeline Hayes."
Vincent immediately reached for his own phone.
"We already searched after she disappeared."
"Search again."
"Sebastian—"
"Again."
The command was quiet.
But Vincent understood.
This was not a request.
It was the voice of a man who had finally found something worth destroying the world for.
Within minutes, the office filled with the sound of typing.
Sebastian stood near the window.
The same window where he had spent countless nights remembering the woman he lost.
But tonight felt different.
For five years, he had looked at the city and wondered why Madeline left him.
Now he knew she didn't.
Someone forced her to disappear.
Someone made her believe she had to hide his own child.
And that meant someone had been watching.
Someone had been controlling the truth.
Vincent ended a call.
"I found something."
Sebastian turned immediately.
"Tell me."
"After Madeline disappeared, there was one person who helped her leave Houston."
"Who?"
"A woman named Emma Reeves."
Sebastian’s expression changed.
"Start with Emma."
Vincent nodded.
"Exactly."
He placed a file on the desk.
Sebastian opened it.
Inside were several documents.
Emma Reeves.
Thirty-one years old.
Former elementary school teacher.
No criminal record.
No connection to Sebastian.
No connection to his organization.
Until five years ago.
"Why would she help Madeline?"
Vincent continued reading.
"Because Madeline trusted her."
Sebastian looked at him.
"How?"
Vincent flipped another page.
"Madeline rented a small apartment under Emma's name three months after leaving Houston."
Sebastian froze.
"She was alive."
Vincent nodded.
"Yes."
The word hit harder than Sebastian expected.
Alive.
A simple word.
But for five years, he had lived with the belief that Madeline was gone forever.
"Where is Emma now?"
Vincent hesitated.
That was enough to make Sebastian notice.
"What?"
"She disappeared six months ago."
Sebastian's eyes narrowed.
"Disappeared?"
"Yes."
"Like Madeline?"
Vincent did not answer.
He didn't need to.
Sebastian understood.
Someone was cleaning up the past.
Someone knew the truth.
And someone was afraid Sebastian would find it.
"Find her."
"We will."
"No."
Sebastian looked at him.
"We won't search."
Vincent waited.
"We will locate."
The difference mattered.
Searching meant hoping.
Locating meant finding someone who didn't want to be found.
Vincent nodded.
"I'll make calls."
As Vincent moved toward the door, Sebastian stopped him.
"Vincent."
He turned.
"Nobody knows about this."
Vincent looked at the photograph.
"You think someone is watching?"
"I know someone is."
The answer was immediate.
Because Sebastian had spent his entire life recognizing danger.
The people around him feared his instincts.
Tonight, those instincts were screaming.
After Vincent left, Sebastian remained alone.
He looked at the photograph again.
The boy's face.
The eyes.
The tiny expression of seriousness.
A strange feeling moved through him.
Something he had never experienced before.
He was used to protecting people through power.
Through fear.
Through control.
But how did a man protect a child who didn't even know him?
How did he become a father overnight?
The question stayed with him until morning.
At sunrise, Sebastian was no longer the same man who had opened the envelope.
The grief was still there.
The anger was still there.
But now there was something else.
Purpose.
Three hours later, Vincent returned.
He looked exhausted.
Which meant the news was bad.
Sebastian immediately noticed.
"What happened?"
Vincent placed a folder on the table.
"We found Emma."
Sebastian opened it.
A photo fell out.
A woman.
Emma Reeves.
And beside her...
A little boy.
The same boy from Madeline's photograph.
Sebastian's hand stopped.
"Where?"
Vincent's expression became serious.
"Colorado."
Sebastian looked up.
"Is he safe?"
Vincent was silent.
Too silent.
Sebastian stood.
"Vincent."
"We don't know."
The room changed.
The air became heavier.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Three weeks ago, Emma contacted an old friend."
"Who?"
"She said someone was following them."
Sebastian's jaw tightened.
"Them."
Vincent nodded.
"Emma and the boy."
Sebastian looked down at the photograph.
His son.
A child who had spent his entire life running.
A child who had never known Sebastian existed.
"Did she say who was following them?"
Vincent opened the folder.
"There was one message."
Sebastian grabbed the paper.
It was a copy of an email.
The sender was unknown.
The message contained only one sentence.
You can't hide what belongs to us.
Sebastian read it twice.
Then slowly placed it down.
"Belongs to us."
His voice became colder.
"They don't think he's a child."
Vincent watched him.
"They think he's an asset."
Sebastian looked at the photograph again.
Something inside him changed.
The businessman disappeared.
The leader disappeared.
The feared man disappeared.
Only a father remained.
"Book the flight."
Vincent nodded.
"Tonight?"
"Now."
"Sebastian, if someone is watching—"
"Let them."
Vincent stopped.
Sebastian picked up the photograph.
"They took five years from me."
His eyes hardened.
"They don't get another day."
Within an hour, Sebastian's private jet was prepared.
Within two hours, the Cole organization was moving.
But Sebastian gave one order above all others.
No weapons.
No violence.
No mistakes.
Because for the first time in his life, Sebastian Cole was not going somewhere to win a war.
He was going to meet his son.
And he knew one thing.
May you like
Whoever had hidden the boy from him would eventually have to answer.
But before Sebastian could reach Colorado, someone already knew he was coming.
